Fly Tipping — Britain’s Rubbish Nightmare
It’s Illegal — It’s Out Of Control — It’s A National Disgrace!
It may seem odd to any Medium readers of mine, but I don’t actually like moaning. It’s almost always unproductive and tends to be the domain of those usually unwilling to do something about whatever it is they’re moaning about.
I hope that’s not me.
Though I have — let’s say — drawn attention to certain aspects of life I find unpleasant and which most others would too.
Some while ago I submitted a piece to Medium. It was about ‘chuddy’ — chewing gum — and it’s repellent usage and disposal.
Now — fly tipping!
…..and it is a nightmare, especially in the British countryside, where it seems to have reached epidemic proportions.
Some while ago the TV channel, Channel 5, broadcast a programme detailing the problem. It can be found here should you wish to view it.
It would appear that local authorities here in the UK, to whom the responsibility for the clearing and disposal of fly-tipped waste falls, have to deal with over a million incidents every year.
It easy to ask why so much waste is illegally dumped on public and private land, when there are abundant sites for its legal disposal. The answer is almost always…..
…..MONEY!
Unsurprising, of course. It always comes down to money.
Fly tipping has reached massive proportions with huge amounts of time and money invested by the illegal fly-tippers!
Hoad’s Wood
There is an example in rural Kent where a large area of an ancient forest — one that supposedly has legal protection — that has been felled and cleared (by the fly-tippers) just to make space for waste dumping.
Hard to believe, but it has happened.
If you use Google Maps, and search for ‘Hoad’s Wood’ (it’s in Kent, south east England) then change the view to show the satellite image, you will see a scar near the north west end of the wood. That is the area of illegally felled woodland to allow fly-tipping. (I’ve not included a screen shot of this as I’m unsure of copyright laws applying to Google Maps)
It measures some 150 metres by 50 metres. Apparently it has now been spotted by the authorities and should, by now, have been dealt with.
What that means, I have no idea. They clearly can’t reinstate the felled trees.
An anonymous witness claimed up to 20 lorries a day were dumping there, each with loads of many tons. He alerted the police, they said it was a civil matter and passed it on to the council, they said it was legitimate activity!
It clearly wasn’t!
The buck was being passed on, nobody taking responsibility.
Eventually, the Environment Agency DID act, and the site was closed down and secured against future dumping. An investigation is ongoing.
A little too late, don’t you think?
Who Pays?
The annual overall cost of dealing with illegally dumped waste in the UK is estimated to be over a billion pounds. Add to that the despoiled countryside and the usually irreparable damage to wildlife habitats, then who knows what the cost to the country might be. Whatever the total, it will fall to the taxpayer.
The problem has now grown well beyond the occasional family car load of household waste being left at the roadside. Last year there were 42,000 reports of large lorry-loads of rubbish being dumped illegally in the UK.
Hundreds of thousands of tons of waste ruining the environment for years and decades to come or maybe forever.
There are endless examples of fly-tipping around the UK, often watched, recorded and reported by concerned witnesses. The evidence — usually in the form of photos of the offence, even videos of the offence being committed — is passed on to the authorities.
This is a notice at a nearby one time favourite spot for fly-tipping near my home. Less than half a mile away is a council run recycling centre and waste dump.
This shows the wholly inadequate, yet expensive, attempt by the local council to prevent fly-tipping.
Not as bad as it once was, but there are still those unperturbed by the threat of prosecution.
Profitable Business!
Prosecutions have been implemented against the offenders, but have rarely been a deterrent. Why is that so?
Why? Because it is a profitable business.
Contractors are paid by unsuspecting customers who want household waste disposed of. The contractors then illegally dump the rubbish. Who is then responsible for the dumped rubbish?
Answer — the householder who paid for it to be dumped!
Who is responsible for its removal and proper disposal?
Answer — the council and paid for from local rates, paid by…..householders!
The cost of legally disposing of waste is now £103 per ton, set to rise soon by 20%.
It’s little wonder then that the problem continues, though, claims the government, it is not growing but decreasing. Though local authorities might well contest this!
The problem is further exacerbated by the loss of legitimate council dumps and the fact that fines are clearly no deterrent.
Supply and Demand
It always comes down to supply and demand. One will always win over the other and there will always be a loser.
In the case of illegal fly-tipping, the loser is always the environment and those that look after it and those that will, eventually, lose it…..possibly forever.
